November 20, 2012 - Smart TVs, LED technology, and emerging markets are going to boost the IC market for TVs, says a new IC Insights study examining several key system applications, including the market for digital televisions and its impact on the IC market.

Total worldwide shipments of digital and analog televisions are forecast to slow considerably in 2012, growing only 1.2% to 236 million units, says the analyst firm. Digital televisions, which first surpassed CRT televisions in 2008, are forecast to represent 92% of new TV shipments this year.

Global TV shipments by technology. (Source: IC Insights)

The digital television upgrade cycle continues in full swing in emerging markets such as Brazil, Russia, India, and China, and that's helping offset slower growth in mature markets where upgrades to flat-panel digital televisions sets has largely taken place. Through 2016, TV shipments are forecast to grow to 269 million units, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.9% from 2011-2016.

In the near-term, smart TVs represent a solid growth driver for TV manufacturers. Smart TV is bringing Internet features to television by offering TV broadcasts, videos, movies, photos, and other content via the web and Cloud-based video on demand (VOD) services. IC Insights estimates that smart TVs represented 28% of television shipments in 2012, but will account for 62% of TV shipments in 2016.

Adoption of technologies such as wireless video connections, networking interfaces, multi-format decoders and LED backlighting will help boost the average IC content in TV sets -- even as the growth rate for TV sets themselves slows through the forecast period. The IC market for DTVs grew 12% to an estimated $13.4 billion in 2012, up from $12.0 billion in 2011, and IC Insights projects total global IC revenue for televisions growing 9% to $14.6 billion in 2013.

Economic hardship is seen as one reason for the slow rate of growth for televisions in 2012. But perhaps more telling is that a younger, tech-savvy generation of consumers is choosing to watch TV when it wants via the Internet, using the mobile device of their choice.